JP6475652B2 - Image output system - Google Patents

Description

  Embodiments described herein relate generally to an image output system.

  Ferris wheels that can display images are known. Patent Document 1 discloses a ferris wheel that includes a rotating wheel in which a large number of LED elements are arranged and displays a moving image on the front surface of the rotating wheel by dimming the LED element according to video information. .

JP 2013-37086 A

  An image is output to the rotating wheel by an image output device (hereinafter referred to as an image output device) provided in the ferris wheel. The image output device may be controlled by an operation terminal connected via a network. When the operation terminal and the image output device are not integrated devices, the image may not be output to the rotating wheel at the timing intended by the user due to a communication failure or a difference in internal time between the two devices. is there.

  The problem to be solved by the present invention is to make it possible to display an image on a ferris wheel at a timing intended by a user.

  The image output system of the present invention includes an image output device that outputs an image to at least one surface of a wheel of a ferris wheel, and a control device that is connected to the image output device via a network. The control device includes a first timer that counts the current time, a first time information acquisition unit that acquires time information from the time output system, and a first time based on the time information acquired by the first time information acquisition unit. First time adjusting means for adjusting the current time of the timer, time output means for outputting the current time counted by the first timer to the display device, identification information of the image, and the image specified by the identification information User interface output means for outputting a user interface for editing or generating schedule data including information associated with the output start time to the display device, and data transmission means for transmitting the schedule data to the image output device via the network And comprising. The image output device includes: a second timer that counts the current time; a second time information acquisition unit that acquires time information from the same time output system as the system from which the first time information acquisition unit acquires time information; At least one surface of the rotating wheel, second time adjusting means for adjusting the current time of the second timer based on the time information acquired by the second time information acquiring means, data acquiring means for acquiring schedule data Output means for outputting an image based on the current time counted by the second timer and the output start time recorded in the schedule data.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to display an image on a ferris wheel at a timing intended by a user.

It is a block diagram of the image output system of an embodiment. It is a block diagram of a control device of an embodiment. It is a figure which shows a mode that various data are stored in the memory | storage part of a control apparatus. It is a functional block diagram of the control part of a control apparatus. It is a front view of the ferris wheel of an embodiment. It is a partial enlarged view of the rotating wheel with which a ferris wheel is equipped. It is a figure which shows the structure of the lamp arrange | positioned at a rotating wheel. It is a block diagram of the image output device of an embodiment. It is a figure which shows the structure of a light emission part. It is a figure which shows a mode that various data are stored in the memory | storage part of an image output device. It is a figure which shows an example of image data. (A) is a view showing a lamp arranged on a rotating wheel in a state where the rotating wheel is removed, and (B) is a diagram in which the lamp shown in (A) is superimposed on the image shown in FIG. It is a figure. It is a functional block diagram of the control part of an image output device. It is a flowchart of a 1st time adjustment process. It is a flowchart of a schedule process. It is an example of a user interface for editing or generating schedule data. It is a figure which shows a mode that the update window was displayed on the main window. It is a flowchart of a 2nd time adjustment process. It is a flowchart of a reproduction | regeneration control process. It is a flowchart of an image output process. FIG. 11A is a diagram in which the image of FIG. 11 is superimposed on a lamp in the home position state, and FIG. 21B is a diagram illustrating a state in which the lamp in the state of FIG. 21A is caused to emit light based on mapping information. It is. (A) is an image obtained by superimposing the image of FIG. 11 on a lamp rotated by a certain angle from the home position, and (B) is a state in which the lamp in the state of FIG. 22 (A) is caused to emit light based on the mapping information. FIG.

  Hereinafter, embodiments for carrying out the invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In the drawings, the same or equivalent parts are denoted by the same reference numerals.

  The image output system 1 of this embodiment is a system that outputs an image (still image, moving image, or both) to a ferris wheel. FIG. 1 is a block diagram of the image output system 1. The image output system 1 includes a time server TS, a control device 10, and a ferris wheel 20. The ferris wheel 20 is provided with an image output device 100.

  The time server TS, the control device 10, and the image output device 100 are connected via a network. The network is a communication network such as a LAN (Local Area Network), a WAN (Wide Area Network), a telephone network (a mobile phone network, a fixed telephone network, etc.), a regional IP network, and the Internet. The network may be a wired network or a wireless network such as a wireless LAN.

  The time server TS is a device that outputs accurate time information to an external device via a network. The time server TS functions as a time output system. The time server TS includes a GPS (Global Positioning System) receiver, for example, and determines an accurate current time based on a signal from a navigation satellite (GPS satellite). The time server TS transmits the determined current time to the control device 10 and the image output device 100 as time information.

  The control device 10 is a device for controlling the image output of the ferris wheel 20. The control device 10 is arranged in the command room and operated by the operator. The command room may be an office near the Ferris wheel 20 or a remote office. The control device 10 transmits image data and the like via the network to the image output device 100 arranged in the ferris wheel 20.

  FIG. 2 is a block diagram of the control device 10. The control device 10 includes a timer 11, an external interface 12, a communication unit 13, an operation unit 14, a display unit 15, a storage unit 16, and a control unit 17.

  The timer 11 is a device for counting the current time. The timer 11 is, for example, a processor that counts time based on oscillation of a crystal resonator. The timer 11 transmits the counted current time to the control unit 17. The timer 11 may be incorporated in the control unit 17 as a function of the control unit 17.

  The external interface 12 is an external device connection interface for connecting an external device to the control device 10. The external interface 12 is, for example, a USB (Universal Serial Bus) interface. The external interface 12 acquires image data from a USB memory or the like and stores it in the storage unit 16 via the control unit 17.

  The communication unit 13 is a communication interface for connecting the control device 10 to a network. The communication unit 140 may be a wired interface or a wireless interface such as a wireless local area network (LAN). The communication unit 140 transmits image data to the image output apparatus 100 via a network.

  The operation unit 14 is an input device such as a keyboard, a mouse, and a touch panel. The operation unit 14 notifies the control unit 17 of user operation information.

  The display unit 15 is a display device such as a liquid crystal display (Liquid Crystal Display) or an organic EL display (Organic Electro-Luminescent Display). The display unit 15 displays various information to the user under the control of the control unit 17.

  The storage unit 16 is a storage device capable of reading and writing data, such as a DRAM (Dynamic Random Access Memory), an SRAM (Static Random Access Memory), a flash memory, and a hard disk. The storage unit 16 functions as a storage unit of the control device 10. As shown in FIG. 3, the storage unit 16 stores data such as schedule data 16a and image data 16b.

  The schedule data 16a is data for designating the image output device 100 with the reproduction time, reproduction order, and the like of the images displayed on the ferris wheel 20. The schedule data 16a includes information associating the identification information of the image with the output start time of the image specified by the identification information. The format of the schedule data 16a is arbitrary. In the present embodiment, the schedule data 16a is generated by schedule processing described later and can be edited by the user. The schedule data 16a is stored in the schedule folder.

  The image data 16b is image data to be displayed on the front or back of the ferris wheel 20. The image data 16b is composed of a plurality of image data and is stored in a video folder. The image data 16b may be still image data or moving image data. The image data 16b may include both a still image and a moving image. The image data 16b is, for example, AVI data composed of an image of 512 × 512 pixels in one frame.

  The control unit 17 is a processing device such as a processor. The control unit 17 operates in accordance with a program stored in a ROM (Read Only Memory), a RAM (Random Access Memory) or a storage unit 16 (not shown), thereby performing “first time adjustment processing” and “schedule processing” described later. To achieve various operations.

  FIG. 4 is a functional block diagram of the control unit 17. The control unit 17 has functions as a time information acquisition unit 17a, a time adjustment unit 17b, a time output unit 17c, a user interface output unit 17d, a data transmission unit 17e, and an image display unit 17f. The time information acquisition unit 17a functions as a time information acquisition unit of the control device 10, the time adjustment unit 17b functions as a time adjustment unit of the control device 10, and the time output unit 17c functions as a time output unit of the control device 10, The user interface output unit 17d functions as a user interface output unit of the control device 10, the data transmission unit 17e functions as a data transmission unit of the control device 10, and the image display unit 17f functions as an image display unit of the control device 10. Each functional block shown in FIG. 4 may be a software block or a hardware block.

  FIG. 5 is a front view of the ferris wheel 20. The ferris wheel 20 includes a rotating wheel 21 formed by combining a plurality of steel frames. The rotating wheel 21 is rotatably supported by support legs 23. The rotating wheel 21 rotates at a speed set by an operator or a designer of the ferris wheel 20. A plurality of gondolas 22 are arranged on the outer periphery of the rotating wheel 21.

  FIG. 6 is a partially enlarged view of the rotating wheel 21. In FIG. 6, the gondola 22 is removed from the rotating wheel 21 in order to make the configuration of the rotating wheel 21 easily visible. The rotating wheel 21 rotates around the rotation axis C at a constant speed clockwise in the drawing. The structure (framework etc.) of the rotating wheel 21 can be arbitrarily changed. The rotating wheel 21 of the present embodiment includes 30 frames of R1 to R30 extending radially about the rotation axis C. Each of R1 to R30 includes steel frames 21a and 21b extending straight from the outer periphery of the rotating wheel 21 toward the rotation axis C.

  A lamp is arranged on each of the steel frames 21a and 21b. Four lamps L1 to L4 are arranged on the steel frame 21a. In addition, 22 lamps L5 to L26 are arranged on the steel frame 21b. These lamps are arranged in a row from the outer periphery toward the center C. In the case of this embodiment, the rotating wheel 21 has 30 radial frames R1 to R30, and therefore 780 (= 26 × 30) lamps are arranged on one surface of the rotating wheel 21. . In the present embodiment, the rear side of the rotating wheel 21 has the same configuration as that shown in FIGS. 5 and 6. Similarly to the front side, the lamps L1 to L26 are arranged on the steel frames 21a and 21b on the back side. Note that which of the rotating wheels 21 is the front is arbitrary by the designer of the ferris wheel 20.

  The lamps L1 to L26 of the present embodiment have substantially the same configuration. FIG. 7 shows the configuration of the lamp L1 as a representative of the lamps L1 to L26. The lamp L1 includes an elongated casing. In the housing, four light emitters 24 are arranged in a line along the longitudinal direction of the lamp L1. Since 780 lamps are disposed on one surface of the rotating wheel 21, 3120 (= 4 × 780) light emitters 24 are disposed on one surface of the rotating wheel 21.

  Each of the light emitters 24 includes an LED (Light Emitting Diode) element. Each light emitter 24 emits light under the control of a control unit 160 described later. One light emitter 24 corresponds to one pixel of an image. One light emitter 24 is provided with red, green, and blue LEDs. By the combination of these colors, each light emitter 24 emits various colors. Each lamp may be provided with a lightning surge circuit. By disposing lightning surge circuits in each lamp, the destruction of the lamp due to lightning can be reduced.

  FIG. 8 is a block diagram of the image output apparatus 100. The image output device 100 is a device that displays an image transmitted from the control device 10 on the front surface or the back surface of the rotating wheel 21 by controlling the light emitter 24 to emit light. The image output device 100 includes a light emitting unit 110, a timer 120, a rotation sensor 130, a communication unit 140, a storage unit 150, and a control unit 160.

  The light emitting unit 110 is an image display device disposed on the rotating wheel 21. The light emitting units 110 are respectively disposed on the front surface and the back surface of the rotating wheel 21. In the present embodiment, the light emitting unit 110 is described as being part of the image output apparatus 100, but may be regarded as an external configuration of the image output apparatus 100 (for example, part of the rotating wheel 21). Is possible. FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of the light emitting unit 110 in front of the rotating wheel 21. Since the configuration of the light emitting unit 110 on the back surface is the same as that on the front surface except that it is bilaterally symmetric, description thereof is omitted. The light emitting unit 110 includes control panels 111 to 114 and a plurality of sets of lamps L1 to L26.

  The control panels 111 to 114 are devices for controlling the light emission of the light emitters 24 provided in the lamps L1 to L26, respectively. The control panels 111 to 114 are installed near the rotation axis C of the rotating wheel 21. The control panels 111 to 114 are each connected to the control unit 160. A plurality of sets of lamps L1 to L26 are connected to the control panels 111 to 114, respectively. Eight sets of lamps L1 to L26 R1 to R8 are connected to the control panel 111, eight sets of lamps L1 to L26 R9 to R16 are connected to the control panel 112, and R17 is connected to the control panel 113. Eight sets of lamps L1 to L26 of ~ R24 are connected. In addition, six sets of lamps L1 to L26 of R25 to R30 are connected to the control panel 114. As described above, the lamps L <b> 1 to L <b> 26 are disposed on the rotating wheel 21. Each of the lamps L1 to L26 includes a plurality of light emitters 24. The control panels 111 to 114 control the light emitting body 24 to emit light based on the signal received from the control unit 160.

  Returning to FIG. 8, the timer 120 is a device for counting the current time. The timer 120 is a processor that counts time based on oscillation of a crystal resonator, for example. The timer 120 transmits information on the current time to the control unit 160. The timer 120 may be incorporated in the control unit 160 as a function of the control unit 160.

  The rotation sensor 130 is a sensor that detects the rotation of the rotating wheel 21. The rotation sensor 130 is installed, for example, on the rotation axis C of the rotating wheel 21 and outputs a rotation detection signal to the control unit 160 every time the rotating wheel 21 rotates by a certain angle. The rotation detection signal may be a high / low electric signal. In the present embodiment, as an example, the rotation sensor 130 outputs a rotation detection signal to the control unit 160 every time the rotating wheel 21 rotates by 0.1 °. The control unit 160 determines the rotational position of the rotating wheel 21 based on the signal from the rotation sensor 130.

  The rotation position determined by the control unit 160 is, for example, the rotation angle of the rotating wheel 21 from the state where the rotating wheel 21 is at the home position H. In the present embodiment, as an example, the rotation position determined by the control unit 160 is assumed to be a rotation angle in units of 0.1 °. That is, the rotation position determined by the control unit 160 is a rotation angle every 0.1 ° from 0 ° to 359.9 °. Note that which rotational position is set as the home position H is arbitrarily determined by the designer. In the present embodiment, as an example, the home position H is assumed to be the rotational position of the rotating wheel 21 when the steel frame 21a of the framework R1 is located on the top as shown in FIG.

  The communication unit 140 is a communication interface for connecting the image output apparatus 100 to a network. The communication unit 140 may be a wired interface or a wireless interface such as a wireless local area network (LAN). The communication unit 140 receives image data from the control device 10 via a network. The communication unit 140 stores the image data received from the control device 10 in the storage unit 150.

  The storage unit 150 is a storage device capable of reading and writing data, such as a DRAM (Dynamic Random Access Memory), an SRAM (Static Random Access Memory), a flash memory, and a hard disk. The storage unit 150 functions as a storage unit of the image output apparatus 100. FIG. 10 is a diagram showing how various data are stored in the storage unit 150. The storage unit 150 stores data such as schedule data 151a, image data 151b, and mapping data 152.

  The schedule data 151a is data in which the playback time, playback order, and the like of images displayed on the rotating wheel 21 are scheduled. The schedule data 151a includes information in which the image identification information is associated with the output start time of the image specified by the identification information. The schedule data 151a is obtained by storing the schedule data 15a transmitted from the control device 10 in the storage unit 150 as it is after the control unit 160 converts the format. The schedule data 151a is stored in the schedule folder.

  The image data 151 b is image data to be displayed on the front surface or the back surface of the rotating wheel 21. The image data 151b is composed of a plurality of image data and is stored in a video folder. The image data 151b may be data received from the control device 10 or data stored in advance in the storage unit 150. The image data 151b may be still image data or moving image data. The image data may include both still images and moving images. In the following description, the image data 151b is assumed to be a moving image of 30 frames / second as an example, and one frame is assumed to be an image of 64 × 64 pixels as shown in FIG. The position of each pixel is expressed by, for example, XY coordinate values (X, Y) with the upper left corner of the image as the origin. The X axis is the horizontal direction and the Y axis is the vertical direction.

  Returning to FIG. 10, the mapping data 152 is data in which the pixels of the image data 151 b are assigned to the respective light emitters 24. The mapping data 152 is composed of a plurality of mapping information. Mapping information is prepared for 360 °, and each piece of mapping information is associated with information on the rotational position of the rotating wheel 21. Since the rotation sensor 130 of this embodiment can detect the rotation position every 0.1 °, 3600 mapping information is prepared for every 0.1 °.

  The mapping information will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 12 (A) and 12 (B). FIG. 12A shows the lamps L1 to L26 arranged on the rotating wheel 21 with the rotating wheel 21 removed. FIG. 12B is a diagram in which the lamps L1 to L26 shown in FIG. 12A are superimposed on the image shown in FIG. The state of the lamps L1 to L26 shown in FIGS. 12A and 12B is a state when the rotating wheel 21 is at the home position H, that is, when the rotating position of the rotating wheel 21 is 0 °. .

  As can be seen from FIG. 12B, the pixel at the position of the lamp L1 of R1 is (32, 0). Therefore, the designer assigns position information (32, 0) to the four light emitters 24 arranged in the lamp L1 of R1. The pixel at the position of the lamp L4 of R3 is (42, 1). Therefore, the designer assigns position information (42, 1) to the four light emitters 24 arranged on the lamp L4 of R3. In this way, the designer assigns position information to all 3120 light emitters 24 arranged on the rotating wheel 21. Then, the designer stores 3120 pieces of allocation information as mapping information 1 in the mapping data 152. The designer also assigns pixel position information to the light emitter 24 for other rotation positions (in the case of the present embodiment, 3599 rotation positions of 0.1 to 359.9 °), and performs mapping as mapping information 2 to 3600. Store in data 152. In the above description, the same position information is assigned to the four light emitters 24 arranged in one lamp. Of course, different position information may be assigned to the four light emitters 24.

  Returning to FIG. 8, the control unit 160 is a processing device such as a processor. The control unit 160 operates in accordance with a program stored in a ROM or RAM (not shown) or the storage unit 150, thereby realizing various operations including “second time adjustment processing” and “reproduction control processing” described later. .

  FIG. 13 is a functional block diagram of the control unit 160. The control unit 160 has functions as a time information acquisition unit 161, a time adjustment unit 162, a data acquisition unit 163, a rotation position determination unit 164, a mapping information acquisition unit 165, an output control unit 166, and a data request unit 167. The time information acquisition unit 161 functions as a time information acquisition unit of the image output device 100, the time adjustment unit 162 functions as a time adjustment unit of the image output device 100, and the data acquisition unit 163 includes a data acquisition unit of the image output device 100. The rotation position determination unit 164 functions as a rotation position determination unit of the image output apparatus 100, the mapping information acquisition unit 165 functions as a mapping information acquisition unit of the image output apparatus 100, and the output control unit 166 includes an image output apparatus. The data request unit 167 functions as a data request unit of the image output apparatus 100. Each functional block shown in FIG. 13 may be a software block or a hardware block.

  Next, the operation of the image output system 1 having such a configuration will be described. The operations of the image output system 1 are “first time adjustment processing” and “schedule processing” executed by the control device 10, and “second time adjustment processing” and “reproduction control processing” executed by the image output device 100. It is divided into.

  First, the “first time adjustment process” will be described. The control unit 17 of the control device 10 starts the first time adjustment process when the control device 10 is powered on. As described above, the control unit 17 has functions as the time information acquisition unit 17a and the time adjustment unit 17b. Hereinafter, the first time adjustment process will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

  The time information acquisition unit 17a determines whether or not the current time is the timing for acquiring time information from the time server TS (step S101). The timing for acquiring time information (hereinafter referred to as setting timing) can be arbitrarily set by the user. The timing for acquiring the time information may be, for example, when the control device 10 is activated and every 15 minutes. When the present time is not the set timing (step S101: No), the time information acquisition unit 17a repeats step S101 until the set timing comes.

  When the current time is the set timing (step S101: Yes), the time information acquisition unit 17a acquires time information from the time server TS (step S102). Then, the time adjustment unit 17b adjusts the current time so that the current time counted by the timer 11 matches the time indicated by the time information (step S103).

  When the adjustment is completed, the control unit 17 returns the process to step S101 and repeats the processes of step S101 to step S103.

  Next, schedule processing will be described. When the user instructs the start of the schedule process via the operation unit 14 (for example, when application software that executes the schedule process is activated by the user), the control unit 17 starts the schedule process. The schedule process is executed in parallel with the first time adjustment process. As described above, the control unit 17 has functions as the time output unit 17c, the user interface output unit 17d, and the data transmission unit 17e. Hereinafter, the schedule processing will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

  The user interface output unit 17d determines whether the schedule data 15a is stored in the storage unit 16 (step S201). When the schedule data 16a is not stored in the storage unit 16 (step S201: No), the user interface output unit 17d generates the schedule data 16a without reading the schedule data 16a from the storage unit 16. Is displayed on the display unit 15 (step S203).

  When the schedule data 16a is stored in the storage unit 16 (step S201: Yes), the user interface output unit 17d reads the schedule data 16a from the storage unit 16 (step S202). Then, the user interface output unit 17d displays a user interface for generating the schedule data 16a on the display unit 15 (step S203).

  FIG. 16 shows an example of a user interface for editing or generating the schedule data 16a. The user interface has a main window 15a. In the main window 15a, both editing and generation of the schedule data 16a are possible. The main window 15a includes five display areas 15a1 to 15a5.

  The display area 15a1 is an area for displaying image data that can be selected by the user. The display area 15a1 includes an area for displaying a list of folders storing image data. When the user selects a folder, thumbnails of image data stored in the folder are displayed in an area on the right side of the folder. The image data stored in the folder is image data that can be displayed on the rotating wheel 21.

  The display area 15a2 is an area for reproducing image data. When the user selects a thumbnail of image data and presses the play button, the image data is displayed in a black area on the screen.

  The display area 15a3 is an area for outputting the current time. The current time displayed in the display area 15a3 is the current time counted by the timer 11. The current time displayed in the display area 15a3 is output controlled by the time output unit 17c.

  The display area 15a4 is an area for displaying image data information (for example, property information). When the user selects a thumbnail of the image data, the image data information is displayed in the display area 15a4.

  The display area 15a5 is an area for the user to schedule the reproduction time, reproduction order, and the like of the images displayed on the rotating wheel 21. The display area 15a5 designates an area for designating the output start time of the image (a text box displaying “00:00”, “00:15”,... In the figure) and an image reproduction start time. Area (text box displaying “1 minute 0 second”, “30 minute 0 second”,...) In the figure) and area for placing images to be played back (matrix with thumbnails in the figure arranged) Shaped region). The user schedules the reproduction of the image by inputting the time and the reproduction time into the text box and dragging and dropping the thumbnail of the display area 15a2 into the matrix area. The date to be scheduled can be changed by changing the date displayed in e1.

  In the display area 15a5, operation buttons such as a "file transfer" button, a "save" button, and an "end" button are displayed. With this operation button, the user transfers and saves the schedule data 16a, ends the schedule process, and the like.

  Returning to FIG. 15, the user interface output unit 17d determines whether the “save” button in the display area 15a5 has been pressed (step S204). When the “save” button is pressed (step S204: Yes), the user interface output unit 17d newly generates the schedule data 16a based on the information input to the main window 15a and stores it in the storage unit 16 ( Step S205).

  If the “save” button has not been pressed (step S204: No), the user interface output unit 17d determines whether the “file transfer” button has been pressed (step S206). When the “file transfer” button is pressed (step S206: Yes), the user interface output unit 17d displays the update window 15b (step S207).

  FIG. 17 is a diagram showing a state in which the update window 15b is displayed on the main window 15a. The update window 15b is a user interface for updating the schedule data 151a stored in the image output apparatus 100. In the update window 15b, various options can be selected when the schedule data is transmitted. When the “update start” button of the update window 15 b is pressed by the user, the data transmission unit 17 e shapes the schedule data 16 a based on the selected option and transmits it to the image output apparatus 100. When the data acquisition unit 163 of the image output device 100 acquires the schedule data 16 a from the control device 10, the data acquisition unit 163 updates the schedule data 151 a stored in the storage unit 150.

  Returning to FIG. 15, when the “file transfer” button has not been pressed (step S206: No), the user interface output unit 17d determines whether the “end” button has been pressed (step S208). When the “end” button is not pressed (step S208: No), the control unit 17 executes a process assigned to the user operation (step S209). When the “end” button is pressed (step S208: Yes), the control unit 17 deletes the user interface from the display unit 15 (step S209), and ends the schedule process.

  Next, the second time adjustment process will be described. The control unit 160 of the image output apparatus 100 starts the second time adjustment process when the image output apparatus 100 is powered on. As described above, the control unit 160 has functions as the time information acquisition unit 161 and the time adjustment unit 162. Hereinafter, the first time adjustment process will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

  The time information acquisition unit 161 determines whether or not the current time is the timing for acquiring time information from the time server TS (step S301). The timing for acquiring time information (hereinafter referred to as setting timing) can be arbitrarily set by the user. The timing for acquiring the time information may be, for example, when the control device 10 is activated and every 15 minutes. If the current time is not the setting timing (step S301: No), the time information acquisition unit 161 repeats step S301 until the setting timing comes.

  When the current time is the set timing (step S301: Yes), the time information acquisition unit 161 acquires time information from the time server TS (step S302). Then, the time adjustment unit 162 adjusts the current time so that the current time counted by the timer 120 matches the time indicated by the time information (step S303).

  When the adjustment is completed, the control unit 160 returns the process to step S301 and repeats the processes of step S301 to step S303.

  Next, the reproduction control process will be described. The control unit 160 of the image output apparatus 100 starts the reproduction control process when the image output apparatus 100 is powered on. As described above, the control unit 160 functions as the data acquisition unit 163, the rotation position determination unit 164, the rotation position determination unit 164, the mapping information acquisition unit 165, and the output control unit 166. Hereinafter, the reproduction control process will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

  The data acquisition unit 163 determines whether the schedule data 151a has been updated (step S401). If the schedule data 151a has not been updated (step S401: No), the data acquisition unit 163 advances the process to step S403. When the schedule data 151a has been updated, or when execution of step S401 is executed for the first time after the start of the reproduction control process (step S401: Yes), the data acquisition unit 163 acquires the schedule data 151a from the storage unit 150. (Step S402).

  Next, the output control unit 166 determines whether image output start conditions are satisfied (step S403). For example, the output control unit 166 determines whether or not the current time counted by the timer 120 is the output start time recorded in the schedule data 151a. When the output start condition is not satisfied (step S403: No), the output control unit 166 returns the process to step S401.

  When the output start condition is not satisfied (step S403: Yes), the data acquisition unit 163 includes corresponding image data (image data whose reproduction is started by the schedule data 151a) in the image data 151b of the storage unit 150. It is determined whether or not there is (step S404). If there is such image data (step S404: Yes), the data acquisition unit 163 advances the process to step S407.

  When there is no corresponding image data (step S404: No), the data request unit 167 requests the control device 10 to transmit the corresponding image data via the network (step S405). The data transmission unit 17e of the control device 10 transmits the image data to the image output device 100 in response to a request from the data request unit 167. The data acquisition unit 163 acquires image data from the control device 10 via the communication unit 140 (step S406).

  Subsequently, the control unit 160 starts an image output process (step S407). The image output process is a process for displaying an image on the rotating wheel 21. The image output process will be described below with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

  The mapping information acquisition unit 165 acquires the mapping data 152 from the storage unit 150 (step S501). The mapping data 152 stores mapping information for every 0.1 ° for 360 ° (mapping information 1 to 3600 shown in FIG. 10).

  Next, the data acquisition unit 163 acquires the image data 151 from the storage unit 150 (step S502). In the present embodiment, the image data 151 is a moving image of 30 frames / second, and one frame is an image of 64 × 64 pixels as shown in FIG.

  Next, the rotation position determination unit 164 determines the current rotation position of the rotating wheel 21 based on the signal from the rotation sensor 130 (step S503). The rotation position determined by the rotation position determination unit 164 is, for example, a rotation angle of the rotating wheel 21 from the home position H every 0.1 °. For example, the rotational position determination unit 164 determines the current rotational position of the rotating wheel 21 using the following method.

  First, the rotational position discriminating unit 164 internally prepares a cyclic variable that circulates in the range of 0 ° to 359.9 °. As described above, the rotation sensor 130 is configured to output a signal every time the rotating wheel 21 rotates by 0.1 °. When receiving the signal from the rotation sensor 130, the rotational position determination unit 164 counts up the cyclic variable by 0.1 °. The rotational position determination unit 164 determines the value of the cyclic variable as the current rotational position of the rotating wheel 21. Note that the method shown here is merely an example. The rotational position determination unit 164 can determine the current rotational position of the rotating wheel 21 using various methods.

  Next, the output control unit 166 selects mapping information corresponding to the current rotational position from the plurality of mapping information (step S504). For example, if the current rotational position of the rotating wheel 21 is at the home position H (that is, the position of 0 °), the mapping information 1 is selected from the mapping information 1 to 3600 shown in FIG.

  Subsequently, the output control unit 166 performs light emission control on the 3120 light emitters 24 arranged in front of the rotating wheel 21 based on the image data 151 (step S505). At this time, the output control unit 166 controls the light emitter 24 based on the mapping information selected in step S504. For example, if the current rotation position of the rotating wheel 21 is at the home position H, the output control unit 166 controls the light emitter 24 as follows.

  First, the output control unit 166 specifies the position of the corresponding pixel for each of the plurality of light emitters 24 based on the mapping information 1. For example, in the case of four light emitters 24 arranged in the lamp L1 of R1, as shown in FIG. 12B, the pixel at the position (32, 0) is specified as the corresponding pixel. The output control unit 166 identifies the positions of the corresponding pixels for all 3120 light emitters 24. Then, the output control unit 166 identifies the pixel values of the corresponding pixels for all 3120 light emitters 24 based on the image data 151. The output control unit 166 causes the light emitter 24 to emit light based on the specified pixel value. The output control unit 166 controls the light emitting body 24 to emit light using the same mapping information until the rotating wheel 21 rotates by a certain angle (for example, 0.1 °).

  FIG. 21A shows the images shown in FIG. 11 superimposed on the lamps L1 to L26 in the home position H. FIG. 21B shows the mapping information 1 and the image data shown in FIG. It is a figure which shows a mode that the lamps L1-L26 of the state of FIG. 21 (A) were light-emitted based on. The output control unit 166 controls the light emission of the rear light emitter 24 in the same manner as the front light emitter.

  Subsequently, the output control unit 166 determines whether or not the reproduction of the image has been completed (step S506). When the reproduction of the image has ended (step S506: Yes), the control unit 160 returns to the reproduction control process shown in FIG. 19 and repeats steps S401 to S407 again.

  When the reproduction of the image has not ended (step S506: No), the rotational position determination unit 164 determines whether the rotating wheel 21 has rotated by a certain angle (for example, 0.1 °) (step S507). Whether or not it has rotated by a certain angle (for example, 0.1 °) may be determined based on a rotation detection signal from the rotation sensor 130. When the rotating wheel 21 has not rotated by a certain angle (step S507: No), the rotational position determination unit 164 returns the process to step S505.

  When the rotating wheel 21 is rotating by a certain angle (step S507: Yes), the rotation position determining unit 164 determines the current rotation position of the rotating wheel 21. Then, the output control unit 166 switches the mapping information used for the light emission control to the mapping information corresponding to the current rotation position (step S508). For example, if the rotating wheel 21 has rotated by 0.1 ° from the home position H, the output control unit 166 switches the mapping information used for the light emission control to the mapping information 2 shown in FIG. If the rotating wheel 21 is further rotated by 0.1 ° from the rotation position of 0.1 °, the output control unit 166 switches the mapping information used for the light emission control to the mapping information 3.

  When the switching of the mapping information is completed, the output control unit 166 returns to step S505, and again executes the light emission control of the light emitter 24 using the switched mapping information. FIG. 22 (A) is obtained by superimposing the images of FIG. 11 on the lamps L1 to L26 that are rotated clockwise from the home position H by an angle θ. FIG. 22B is a diagram illustrating a state in which the lamps L1 to L26 in the state of FIG. 22A are caused to emit light based on the mapping information and the image data of FIG. Thereafter, the control unit 160 repeats the processing from step S505 to step S508 until the reproduction of the image is completed.

  According to this embodiment, the time information acquisition unit 161 of the image output device 100 acquires time information from the same time output system (time server TS) as the system from which the time information acquisition unit 17a of the control device 10 acquires time information. doing. As a result, the current time of the control device 10 and the current time of the image output device 100 coincide. That is, since the time that the user is viewing (the time displayed on the display unit 15 of the control device 10) matches the current time of the image output device 100, the user can display an image on the Ferris wheel 20 at the intended timing. Can be displayed.

  In addition, since the current time of the control device 10 and the current time of the image output device 100 coincide with each other, there is almost no problem due to the time difference between the two devices. For example, assume that the user changes the image output schedule immediately before the image output start time. At this time, if the current time of the control device 10 and the current time of the image output device 100 are different, the output start time may have already passed on the image output device 100 side when the user changes the image output schedule. There is sex. In this case, the schedule change performed by the user is not reflected in the image output of the image output apparatus 100. However, since the image output system 1 of the present embodiment uses the same time output system to adjust the time so that the current time of the control device 10 and the current time of the image output device 100 match, such a problem is It hardly occurs.

  Further, in the case of a system in which the control device 10 controls the image output device 100 via a network, there is a possibility that the image output device 100 cannot output an image if a communication failure occurs. However, since the image output apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment outputs an image based on schedule data acquired in advance from the control apparatus 10, the image can be reproduced according to the schedule even if a communication failure occurs. .

  Further, the image output apparatus 100 stores mapping information for one rotation of the rotating wheel 21 for each fixed rotation angle, and each time the rotating wheel 21 rotates by a fixed angle (for example, 0.1 °), the light emission control is performed. The mapping information used for is switched to the mapping information corresponding to the current rotational position. Therefore, when outputting an image to the rotating wheel 21, the image output apparatus 100 simply specifies a pixel corresponding to a pixel corresponding to the light emitter 24 by mapping information, and based on the value of the corresponding pixel, the light emitter 24. It is only necessary to control the light emission. That is, the image output apparatus 100 does not need to perform complicated image processing such as reversely rotating the image in accordance with the rotation of the rotating wheel 21 when outputting the image to the rotating wheel 21. As a result, the processing load of the image output apparatus 100 is reduced, so that measures such as providing a high-performance processor are not necessary. In addition, since the processing becomes easy, the development cost of the image output apparatus 100 is reduced. Therefore, the user can display an image on the Ferris wheel 20 at a low cost. Further, since the processing load is reduced, the moving image displayed on the rotating wheel 21 is also smooth.

  The size and framework of the rotating wheel varies depending on the Ferris wheel. Therefore, naturally, the arrangement of the light emitters is different for each ferris wheel. In the case of the method of Patent Document 1, in order to output a video to the Ferris wheel, dedicated video information must be created for each Ferris wheel. However, even if the arrangement of the light emitters 24 is changed, the image output apparatus 100 of the present embodiment can display an image on the rotating wheel 21 simply by recreating the mapping information without changing the image data. The user does not have to create dedicated image data for one Ferris wheel. Therefore, the user can display an image on the Ferris wheel 20 at a low cost.

  Even when the control device 10 controls the image output of the plurality of ferris wheels 20, the difference in the arrangement of the light emitters can be absorbed by the mapping information. By using the image output apparatus 100 of the present embodiment, the cost of image creation is also reduced.

  In addition, a plurality of light emitters 24 for displaying an image are distributed in a plurality of lamps L1 to L26, and each of the plurality of lamps L1 to L26 has a lightning surge protection that protects the light emitters 24 from lightning strikes. Circuit is arranged. By disposing lightning surge circuits in each lamp, the destruction of the lamp due to lightning can be reduced.

  The above-described embodiment is an example, and various changes and applications are possible.

  In the above-described embodiment, the time output system in which the control device 10 and the image output device 100 acquire time information is the time server TS. However, the time output system is not limited to the time server TS. For example, the control device 10 and the image output device 100 may each include a GPS receiver, and the time information acquisition units 17a and 161 may be configured to acquire time information from GPS satellites via the GPS receiver. Then, the time adjustment units 17b and 162 may adjust the current time based on the time information acquired via the GPS receiver. At this time, the GPS can be regarded as a time output system. The time output system is not limited to the time server TS and GPS, and may be a standard radio wave transmission system used for time adjustment of a radio clock, for example.

  In the above-described embodiment, the image data transmitted from the control device 10 to the image output device 100 is a moving image file such as AVI data. However, the image data transmitted from the control device 10 to the image output device 100 is not limited to a moving image file. For example, the image data transmitted from the control device 10 to the image output device 100 may be real-time stream moving image data such as a television broadcast. At this time, the data transmission unit 17e of the control device 10 may be configured to distribute the stream moving image data to the image output device 100 in response to a request from the data request unit 167. Since the current times of the control device 10 and the image output device 100 coincide with each other, the image output device 100 can reliably start from the top of the video to be distributed (for example, the top of the TV program) even for a real-time stream video. From) can start output.

  Further, the control device 10 may include an image display unit 17 f that displays an image on the display unit 15 in accordance with the timing at which the image output device 100 outputs an image to the rotating wheel 21. At this time, the image display unit 17f determines the timing at which the image output device 100 outputs an image to the rotating wheel 21 based on the schedule data 16a. The user can check the image currently displayed on the rotating wheel 21 from a remote place. Since the current times of the control device 10 and the image output device 100 coincide with each other, the image reproduction timing is hardly shifted.

  Further, in the above-described embodiment, the rotation sensor 130 detects the rotation of the rotating wheel 21 every 0.1 °, but the rotation detection interval may not necessarily be every 0.1 °. The detection interval may be an angle larger than 0.1 ° or a small angle. In addition, the rotational position determination unit of the rotational position determination unit 164 is not necessarily in units of 0.1 °. The timing at which the output control unit 166 switches the mapping information may not be every 0.1 °.

  In the above-described embodiment, the mapping information for one rotation of the rotating wheel 21 is stored in the storage unit 150. However, the mapping information stored in the storage unit 150 is more than one rotation of the rotating wheel 21. May be. Further, the mapping information may not be every 0.1 °.

  In the above-described embodiment, the control device 10 controls the image output of one ferris wheel 20, but there may be a plurality of ferris wheels 20 for which the control device 10 controls the image output. At this time, the plurality of ferris wheels 20 may have different arrangements of the light emitters 24. The plurality of ferris wheels 20 may be configured such that image data common to other ferris wheels 20 can be used by absorbing the difference in the arrangement of the light emitters 24 with the mapping information.

  In the above-described embodiment, the image data to be output by the image output apparatus 100 is moving image data, but may be still image data. The image data is not limited to AVI data, and may be image data of other formats such as MPEG (Moving Picture Experts Group), JPEG (Joint Photographic Experts Group), GIF (Graphics Interchange Format), BITMAP, and the like. . The image size (frame size) is not limited to 512 × 512 or 64 × 64. Images of various sizes can be used.

  The control device 10 and the image output device 100 of the present embodiment may be realized by a dedicated computer system or may be realized by a normal computer system. For example, a program for executing the above-described operation is stored and distributed in a computer-readable recording medium such as an optical disk, a semiconductor memory, a magnetic tape, or a flexible disk, the program is installed in the computer, and the above-described processing is performed. The control device 10 and the image output device 100 may be configured by executing them. Further, the program may be stored in a disk device provided in a server device on a network such as the Internet so that it can be downloaded to a computer. Further, the above-described functions may be realized by cooperation between an OS (Operating System) and application software. In this case, a part other than the OS may be stored and distributed in a medium, or a part other than the OS may be stored in a server device and downloaded to a computer.

  Although the embodiment of the present invention has been described, this embodiment is presented as an example and is not intended to limit the scope of the invention. The novel embodiment can be implemented in various other forms, and various omissions, replacements, and changes can be made without departing from the spirit of the invention. This embodiment and its modifications are included in the scope and gist of the invention, and are included in the invention described in the claims and the equivalents thereof.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Image output system 10 ... Control apparatus 11, 120 ... Timer 12 ... External interface 13, 140 ... Communication part 14 ... Operation part 15 ... Display part 15a ... Main window 15b ... Update window 16, 150 ... Storage unit 16a, 151a ... Schedule data 16b, 151b ... Image data 17, 160 ... Control unit 17a, 161 ... Time information acquisition unit 17b, 162 ... time adjustment unit 17c ... time output unit 17d ... user interface output unit 17e ... data transmission unit 17f ... image display unit 20 ... ferris wheel 21 ... rotating wheel 21a, 21b ... steel frame 22 ... gondola 23 ... support leg 24 ... illuminant 100 ... image output device 110 ... light emitting unit 111-114 ... control panel 130 ... rotation Sensor 152 ... Mapping data 163 ... Data acquisition unit 164 ... Rotation position discrimination unit 65 ... mapping information acquiring unit 166 ... output control section 167 ... data request unit TS ... time server R1～R30 ... framework L1～L26 ... lamp

Claims (5)

An image output system comprising: an image output device that outputs an image to at least one surface of a rotating wheel of a ferris wheel; and a control device connected to the image output device via a network,
The control device includes:
A first timer that counts the current time;
First time information acquisition means for acquiring time information from the time output system;
First time adjusting means for adjusting the current time of the first timer based on the time information acquired by the first time information acquiring means;
Time output means for outputting the current time counted by the first timer to a display device;
User interface output means for outputting a user interface for editing or generating schedule data including information relating image identification information and output start time of the image specified by the identification information to a display device;
Data transmission means for transmitting the schedule data to the image output device via the network,
The image output device includes:
A second timer that counts the current time;
Second time information acquisition means for acquiring time information from the same time output system as the system from which the first time information acquisition means acquired time information;
Second time adjusting means for adjusting the current time of the second timer based on the time information acquired by the second time information acquiring means;
Data acquisition means for acquiring the schedule data;
A means for outputting an image to at least one surface of the rotating wheel, and starts outputting an image based on a current time counted by the second timer and the output start time recorded in the schedule data. Output control means,
Image output system. The image output device comprises data request means for requesting image data in which at least one of a still image or a moving image is recorded to the control device based on the schedule data,
The data transmission means of the control device transmits the image data based on a request from the image output device,
The data acquisition means of the image output device acquires the image data from the control device,
The output control means of the image output device outputs an image included in the image data to the rotating wheel;
The image output system according to claim 1. The image data is real-time stream video data.
The image output system according to claim 2. The control device outputs the image to the display device at the same timing as the image output device outputs an image to a rotating wheel based on the schedule data transmitted from the data transmission means to the image output device. Image display means for
The image output system according to any one of claims 1 to 3. The rotating wheel has a plurality of gondola disposed on the outer periphery, rotates at a preset speed, and a plurality of light emitters are disposed on at least one surface,
The data acquisition means acquires image data in which at least one of a still image or a moving image is recorded,
The image output device includes:
Rotational position determining means for determining the rotational position of the rotating wheel;
Storage means for storing mapping information in which position information of pixels constituting an image is assigned to each of the plurality of light emitters;
Output control means for displaying an image on at least one surface of the rotating wheel by controlling light emission of the plurality of light emitters based on the mapping information and the image data;
The storage means stores the mapping information for at least one rotation of the rotating wheel for each fixed rotation angle,
The output control means corresponds to the mapping information used for the light emission control corresponding to the current rotation position every time the rotating wheel rotates by a certain angle based on the rotation position determined by the rotation position determination means. Switch to mapping information,
The image output system according to claim 1.